[governance] Google Eyes Free Spectrum

[yehudakatz at mailinator.com]

Between The Lines 
Google Eyes Free Spectrum 
Elizabeth Woyke 01.30.08
forbes.com

Art. Ref.:
http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/2008/01/30/spectrum-auction-google-tech-wire-cx_ew_0130auction.html


Print:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/30/spectrum-auction-google-tech-wire-cx_ew_0130auction_print.html

-

The ongoing auction of choice, 700 megahertz radio spectrum by the Federal
Communications Commission is a game for high rollers, including telco giants
and Google. One company will likely pay more than $4.6 billion for the rights
to that realm. Through that space, the auction winner--and competitor--could
eventually beam all kinds of signals, including voice, digital video, data, to
your toaster. 

But there is a cheaper way to get data through the airwaves. Just ask Google . 

Google intends to be a big player in the airwaves. At the recent World Economic
Conference in Davos, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said that mobile devices with
location-based advertising could spark a "huge revolution," more interesting
than the personal computer. 

But along with taking part in the FCC's auction, Google has also been trying to
get into the so-called "white space"--slivers of unlicensed, unused spectrum
that lie between television channels. And that makes the telcos nervous. 

The white space channels were originally designed to prevent radio waves on
adjoining channels from bleeding into each other. They're considered too narrow
to be auctioned off. Even so, they're in a choice portion of the spectrum where
analog television currently lives, an area that could be used for data
services, much like the 700 MHz spectrum. Use--if approved--would begin in
February 2009. 

The idea of utilizing white space spectrum has bounced around for years,
stymied by concerns of TV signal interference and the objections of the
powerful broadcast lobby. Then anticipation surrounding the 700 MHz auction
renewed interest in all areas of spectrum, says Scott Ellison, IDC's vice
president of mobile and wireless communications. "People were looking at other
things in the broadcast space … tech companies probably thought, 'Can't we
start using this spectrum in a more efficient way?' " 

Exactly what Google would do in the white space is a subject of debate. Is
Google's zeal for white space a hedge against losing the auction? That seems a
bit of a stretch, particularly since there has been widespread speculation that
Google isn't worried about winning the auction--just about ensuring that anyone
can send data through the spectrum. Last summer, Google nudged the FCC to adopt
a provision that gets triggered if the auction price exceeds $4.6 billion. That
provision ensures that networks built in the newly sold spectrum would be open
to all third-party devices. By actively bidding, Google can make sure that the
final price is north of that magic reserve number--and so make the spectrum
open. 

Google's interest could simply be a land grab for any available slice of
spectrum. "Anything that provides a way to push ads while not benefiting
existing carriers is beneficial for Google," says Rory Altman, director of
telecom consulting firm Altman Vilandrie & Co. Or it could create a low-cost
experimental playing field that lets technology companies try out new services
without the added cost of spectrum access. Companies "could experiment with new
devices and services away from the incumbents, then use the experience to
expand into other [spectrum] areas," notes Phil Asmundson, U.S. Technology,
Media & Telecom Industry Leader at Deloitte & Touche. 

The vacant channels have also attracted other technology bigwigs, including
Microsoft, Intel, Dell and Hewlett-Packard. In late 2006, those companies
joined with several other firms and organizations--and Google--to form the
White Spaces Coalition, which advocates using the unlicensed space. In 2007,
coalition members gave the FCC two portable wireless devices designed to
operate in the white spaces without interfering with adjourning television
broadcast channels. The FCC reported in July 2007 that a gadget built by
Philips Electronics didn't consistently detect broadcast signals and one built
by Microsoft had flunked the tests. 

But a failed first attempt has never stopped a technologist. The companies
regrouped and by January had resubmitted four coalition-made devices to the FCC
for fresh testing. The process is expected to take two to three months. 

A successful trial could usher in a new set of competitors for telcos, which
are already battling cable providers and satellite TV companies for customers
for data services. That's a big growth sector for telcos, which have been
struggling to offset declining voice revenues. 

That's spurred No. 3 and No. 4 operators Sprint and T-Mobile to ask the FCC to
regulate use of white spaces and earmark it for established carriers. Google
responded by requesting the FCC ignore the carriers' request, describing their
proposal as "not the most efficient, or even marginal, use of the white
spaces."

AT&T and Verizon haven't publicly opposed the use of white spaces, presumably
because their larger networks better shield them from such competition. "They
are so advantaged in the amount of spectrum they own, these small slivers
aren't all that threatening to them," says Asmundson. 

They also know how complicated it is to build out a profitable service. Mobile
data services generally require a good chunk of spectrum--say 20 MHz to 30
MHz--to support a business. "You could have some interesting applications in
these little bands, but the technology is not at the point to do anything in a
major way," says Ellison. 

Still, the idea of Google wiggling into the white space as a cheap route to
consumers has the carriers watching their back. 

Adds Ellison, "Google has the heft, money and know-how to play all the fields
and see what works."

---
-30-____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, send any message to:
     governance-unsubscribe at lists.cpsr.org

For all list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance